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India record highest ever points tally
India aggregated their highest points tally to remain in the third position.
India aggregated their highest points tally to remain in the third position of the International Cricket Council's Test Championship. Australia recorded a new high following the annual update.
Australia, England and India all improved their ratings with the world champions securing the highest Test rating since a new system of calculation was introduced in June 2003.
Their rating of 133 is one point higher than it was before the update and it can improve up to 138 if they beat England 5-0 in the ongoing Ashes.
Series played before August 1, 2002 no longer count towards the Test rankings, the ICC said in a release.
England lost to Australia and India and drew with New Zealand during this period so the loss of these series from the calculation has helped England improve their rating by three points to 114.
If they were to lose to Australia by the same 4-1 margin as in 2001 in the current series their rating would fall back to 111.
India lost three away series - to Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies - between August 1, 2001 and July 31, 2002, therefore benefitting by four points as a result of the update.
Their rating of 111 is their highest since the new system came into force.
The ratings of the sides ranked fourth to seventh remain very tightly grouped. New Zealand are the main beneficiary from the update, climbing from seventh to fifth, while South Africa move up from sixth to fourth despite their rating remaining unchanged on 100 points.
South Africa's ascent is due to the falling ratings of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who have lost four and five points respectively.
At the bottom of the table the gap between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh is down to 24 points with Zimbabwe's rating falling by 11 points and Bangladesh picking up a point.
Ratings:
Australia (133), England (114), India (111), South Africa (100), New Zealand (99), Sri Lanka (98), Pakistan (95), West Indies (74), Zimbabwe (30), Bangladesh (6).
